Kira and Dana are the proud mothers of sons Maverick and Ryker. After pursuing at-home sperm inseminations, IUIs, and IVF, their dream of parenthood came true. In this video and in their interview below, they tell us about their journey.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you met and fell in love?

Dana moved to Boston for work where I (Kira) was living. She and I met through my best friend, and although we both were in relationships the minute we saw each other we knew there was something special between us. We first became friends and over time we could not deny the attraction we had for each other any longer. Dana always says she never believed in “soul mates, the perfect one, or fairy tales” until she met me. Almost 8 years later we love each other even more than when we met.

When did you decide you wanted to become parents?

Early on in our relationship we discussed having children and even though Dana’s health at the time was not ideal I had an overwhelming urge to want to “have her baby” and told her so. We had known each other for only about a month when we had this talk. We got married in Provincetown two years later, relocated to Illinois from Massachusetts, then began trying to have a family.

Can you describe your story?

We tried to get, pregnant by at-home inseminations and intrauterine inseminations (IUI) both of which failed. We finally pursued IVF and, on our first attempt, I (Kira) was able to get pregnant with Maverick, our first son who is now almost 5 years old. I remember calling Dana at work and simply asking her “So you need to decide now…. do you want to be called Mama or Mommy?” At that point she burst into tears and repeated over and over.. are you kiddding??? Really???? We’re pregnant??

What has been a special moment of having Maverick?

There are really so many wonderful moments since we first had Maverick. We just could not believe how our lives changed for the better and how much we loved him. We have such a special bond since Maverick is Dana’s biological child but yet I carried him through pregnancy. It was a very magical time for us and we are forever grateful we were able to have him. Our second son Ryker was carried by Dana (her health had improved at that point so she was able to carry him). It was such a great experience to share since we both had experienced pregnancy and had each carried one of our children but yet they were both 100% siblings since Dana’s egg was used with the same donor for both pregnancies.

What were your experiences with FCI?

We chose Dr. Jacobs because of his overall confidence and the experiences that friends had with him and the staff. We feel very grateful to Dr. Jacobs for helping us with this journey to motherhood, which we so desperately wanted to experience. You go from thinking “if we get pregnant” to “we’re getting pregnant” soon after you meet with him! We would highly recommend both Dr. Jacobs and FCI to anyone looking to start a family. You go into it feeling overwhelmed and so unsure, but he and the staff guide you every step of the way and make what can seem daunting an almost seamless experience. Every year we send him and the staff a Christmas card because to us, we wouldn’t have our family without them — they are a part of our family now.